Splash
by Sakura Macarons
Summary: She didn't care if she would be hurting his pride - for once, she'd save him instead of it being the other way around. But things don't always play out how we hope they will.  A rewrite of the park scene from 8/20.


A/N: Wow! I'm back after nearly three years of being MIA from the fanfiction-writing scene. I've still been writing, but more as a roleplayer and less as an author. But recently, I've gotten into the Amnesia fandom and I've had the urge to write for it. Unfortunately, I'm suffering from writer's block, and while this fic probably isn't the best showcase of my skills, I'm really proud of it. So I hope you all enjoy reading it! Special thanks to btamamura for being my totally awesome beta.

Disclaimer: I don't own Amnesia, but if I did, the heroine and Ukyou would be married with Orion as their adoptive son.

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><p>Splash<p>

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><p>Orion had told her that it was best to just let Ukyou be; the last thing he probably wanted was for her to turn back and help him out of that embarrassing predicament. But it was already too late. She had witnessed the entire scene, and despite her companion's warning, she had slipped out of her shoes and was hurrying to the edge of the pond where the photographer had been laying only seconds ago.<p>

"Ukyou-san!" she called to the still-visible form in the water. Somewhere behind her Orion was grumbling, but she could hardly be bothered to listen to him; her eyes were fixed on the young man as he attempted to right himself. It was pretty obvious that he didn't need any help from her, but still, she felt compelled to rush to him – to wrap her arms around his slender shoulders and hold him to her until he could catch his breath and slow his pounding heart.

Perhaps that was her mistake though; she had been so focused on Ukyou that she wasn't paying attention to how close she had come to the water's edge. And not even Orion's last-minute shout of "Be careful!" was enough to warn her.

A single misstep on the wet grass, and suddenly, both her legs slipped out from beneath her and her bottom collided with the earth before she, too, slipped gracelessly into the water.

There was a brief period of frantic disorientation as she vanished beneath the pond's surface; she floundered about for a moment, but was easily rescued by a pair of hands that gripped her shoulders and forced her head back up out of the water. As she coughed and sputtered, a concerned chorus of "Are you alright?" sounded from in front of and behind her, and she nodded her affirmation. But that didn't stop her from pouting behind the curtain of soaking wet hair that hid her face; she really wasn't happy with the turn of events. It was supposed to be the other way around – she was the one who was supposed to rescue Ukyou. She wanted to return the favor – to show her gratitude because he was always looking out for and protecting her. But how could she even manage to do that if all she wound up doing was reversing their positions and once more, needing to be saved?

"Are you sure you're alright?" The question came from the man in front of her; it seemed that while she was lamenting her situation, Ukyou had brushed the hair out of her face and had seen her unhappy expression.

"Ah!" As if she had suddenly been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, her face flushed a bright red and an almost guilty smile replaced the pout. "I should be asking you that, you know." she remarked in an attempt to recover her composure.

"I've already told you not to worry about or trouble yourself over me." he patiently said. And it was true; during several of their meetings, he would often dismiss her concern for him, but despite his words now, he was smiling.

She was smiling, too. And for a moment, they both averted their eyes as they struggled to keep the heat out of their faces.

"But," she hesitantly spoke first.

Equally reluctant, he looked at her; the blush in his cheeks had mostly subsided.

"Well, your affinity for sleeping so close to water really worries me." she admitted, "I mean, I've heard of water beds before, but don't you think you're taking it just a bit too far?"

He couldn't help a quiet chuckle, but even if she was trying to make light of the situation, it was rather apparent that she was genuinely worried for him, and he wanted to avoid causing her any undo distress until the very end.

"I'm sorry," he softly apologized, "I promise that from now on, I won't sleep so close to the water."

Excitedly, she clasped his shoulders affectionately while saying, "Really? You'd do that for me? Thank you!" She was content with his answer; at least now she'd be able to not have to worry about him drowning whenever he'd lay down to sleep.

The apparent relief on her face – the evident joy in her eyes was almost too much for him to take; he had to fight back the urge to caress her cheek or pull her in closer to his body. As it was, they were still in the pond and he hadn't yet released her from his hold. "For you…I'd…" But he couldn't finish his thought. Instead, he just nodded and replied with a quietly uttered "Of course."

"Ukyou-san…" she murmured after a few awkward moments of silence passed between them.

"Hm?"

"I…" She lifted her hand to lightly brush against his face, but thinking better of it, tentatively, placed it back on his shoulder. "I think we should probably get out of the water." she quickly said – hoping to cover up her blunder. She would have plenty of time to say what she really wanted to in the days to come, right?

Both in agreement that they had spent more than their fair share of time in the pond, they pulled themselves out of the water and set to work on adjusting their soaking wet clothing. Her dress clung tightly against her body – flattering her figure and leaving her feeling rather self-conscious.

However, Ukyou seemed not to notice, or if he did, he showed no sign of it.

"Please go straight home and get into something dry." he was saying as she uncomfortably fidgeted with the magenta fabric of her dress. "If you were to catch a cold on my account, I don't—"

"So should you," she strongly interjected – not giving him the chance to complete his sentence; she didn't want him feeling bad over something she chose to do of her own free will. "I promise you I'll go right home, but you should get yourself home and into something dry, too." she continued with just as much conviction as before.

"I will." he assured her.

"Right now." she insisted stubbornly – linking her hands together behind her back. "I'm not going to move from this spot until I see you leave the park. I won't turn my back on you only to find out later that you laid back down to take a nap in those clothes." She raked her eyes over his ensemble and blushed when she realized that his clothes had also been clinging to his body and accenting his figure.

Perhaps if the man in front of her had been someone like Ikki-san, he probably would have coyly said something along the lines of "Do you like what you see?", but luckily, Ukyou was nothing like that. He was gentler – sweeter – not the type of person who would openly embarrass her like that – at least, not that she could recall anyway.

Instead, his cheeks colored, and with an almost sad smile he thanked her before taking his leave.

As she watched him grow smaller and eventually disappear in the distance, she felt the threat of phantom tears welling up behind her eyes.

"Orion," she whispered, "Hey, are you around?"

"I'm here," he answered – materializing beside her. "When I saw that you were okay, I wanted to give you some privacy."

"Thanks," she warmly smiled at him. "Let's head home, okay? I did make a promise to Ukyou-san, after all."


End file.
